TURA: Organisations from Garo Hills like the GSU, AYWO, ADE and FKJGP on Friday expressed dissatisfaction at measures being taken by the government to check the possible influx of outsiders following the release of the final NRC draft in Assam which left out lakhs of citizens from the list.
“We are still apprehensive that the exercise of detection could be a panic response to the intensity of the prevailing situation thus presented by the government and so we will ever remain alert. Should we perceive that there is a lax in the exercise to detect we will be forced to direct our units all over Garo Hills to actively engage themselves in the detection process. All the NGOs’ and Civil Societies’ units are being directed to detect infiltrators and illegal immigrants and we request the people to be alert,” the organizations said and warned all non-tribals entering Garo Hills to have a valid evidence of the entrance of their name in the NRC update of Assam.
Earlier the organisations along with members of the Tura Garo Senior Citizens Forum had met the West Garo Hills DC and SP where they had demanded that members of the organizations were present during the checking of infiltrators. However, both the DC and the SP had during the meeting insisted that the government was taking the issue seriously and that all necessary measures were being taken to detect any possible infiltrators in the border areas with the setting up of police check points at various places.
The organizations sought that Meghalaya state initiate the NRC exercise to detect, deport and detain illegal immigrants and take into account 1971 as the cut off year.
“We are getting reports that three people have been detected at Dalu and five people in Rongjeng and a host of other reports that people with zero documents have been detected by our members. We request the administration of all the districts of Garo Hills to further their efforts, because we are sure that there is infiltration on a daily basis into Meghalaya,” the organizations added.